IMPACT FEES-WILL A MORATORIUM IN OSCEOLA COUNTY SPARK RENEWED INTEREST TO BUSINESSES?  County Commissioners voted unanimously to waive impact fees on commercial construction; in hopes of improving the bleak economic conditions plaguing the local Osceola County economy. The moratorium affected commercial property.  Impact fees have been a major source of funding for road construction projects; in Osceola County. Builders of residential and commercial developments are assessed fees.   The moratorium which was approved by the County Commissioners on commercial projects is hoping to create more jobs by removing the financial barrier which has thwarted growth of commercial development for half a decade in Osceola County.    In addition, Osceola County offered incentives to attract new busine... 06/12/2011

IF YOU HAVE FOUND A "REAL DEAL"  CHANCES ARE SOMEONE ELSE TOO AND IT IS THE HOUSE YOU WANTED- The main reasons buyers fail to "get a deal" is the "procrastination factor".  They simply wait too long before pulling the trigger and writing an offer.   There are a variety of reasons for this usually, it is improper preparation.  The Keys To Making a Successful Offer Are: Planning, Preparation and Timing PLANNING:  Most First time home buyers are unaware they need to have a Pre-pproval Letter or Pre-Qualification for a Home Loan.  The process is simple and easy, and will not damage your credit rating. As a leading area Real Estate Brokerage, we refer buyers to many area lenders, mortgage companies and banks.  Once pre-Approval is determined and obtained, they will write you a letter which c... 06/04/2011

Read The the Full Article Here: The Pink Flamingo-Everything Orlando Real Estate and Vacation Homes! Perhaps you know this situation all too well, you've been trying to acquire an investment in the Orlando area for quite some time now and you've placed offer after offer after offer but still nothing. You start to question your Realtor and/or perhaps even yourself. You're a cash buyer, who wouldn't want to take an offer from a cash buyer, right? Wrong. Let's take a look at some of the main reasons why your offer's are getting rejected on not just bank owned properties but other hot ticket properties. Search Thousands of Investment Properties in the Disney Areas The Market Is Stronger Than You Think Maybe it's you? . . . One of the biggest reasons I see investors losing out on fantastic h... 06/03/2011

RELOCATING TO FLORIDA> DO NOT EXPECT TO FIND A ROMPUS ROOM IN THE BASEMENT.  Remember you grandparents talking about the rompus room?  A Rompus Room was a place where kids could hang out, play games, and romp without disturbing their parents. Typically found in basements. In modern times we more commonly refer to this space as a family room, Rec Room or in the UK it is refered to as a games room.  The problem is most houses in Florida do not have a basement. HIGH WATER TABLES- LESS BASEMENTS    The high water tables in Florida and the fact it is a penisula means very few basements.  Newcomers from the midwest, or Northeast always seem so surprised when lookin gat homes here in the Sunshine state. Because Florida is a penisula; you do  not have to dig too deeply to find water. The Florid... 06/01/2011

UNEMPLOYED FLORIDA HOMEOWNERS HAVE A LIFELINE- Florida has been one of the hardest hit states in housing recession. While some areas like Ft. Myers and Miami are showing sign of slow recovery and increased sales others are slower to respond due to high unemployment, job lay offs, and lack of infrastructure, manufacturing or tourism which helps to create new jobs.  There is help for struggling home owners. HOMEOWNERS CAN GET HELP. Beginning on April 18, 2011 Homewoners, who are less than 6 months behind (180 days) can apply for a Federal funds. Florida one of the "Hardest Hit" regions has received 1 Billion dollars in funds. The Unemployed Mortgage Assistance Program can help homeowners of single family homes who have lost their jobs make mortgage payments upto $12,000 or 6 months whiche... 05/28/2011

Is doing a Strategic Short Sale the right thing to do? First let me define Strategic Short Sale. A Strategic Short Sale is when you can afford your mortgage payments and are making payments on time BUT you owe more than the property is worth. You make a strategic decision to sell the property and offer your Lender less than what is owed as a settlement of your debt. If the Lender accepts your offer you have just completed a Strategic Short Sale.So is this the right thing to do? Maybe. To make this decision you have to look at your overall situation. Does continuing to make payments and keeping the property make sense? Are you able to continue making payments without using credit cards and savings? Is making payments harming your family's financial position? Is the property close to bei... 05/28/2011

Maybe. Maybe not. Some lenders/investors will require that you are 30 days late to receive short sale approval and some won't. As a Florida Short Sale Broker who has handled lots of successful Florida Short Sales I still haven't figured out what triggers the "You must be late" requirement. Just recently I've experienced: One seller was told they needed to be 30 days late. These Sellers have a legitimate hardship and are selling their primary residence due to major medical issues and job relocation. This is a Fannie Mae loan being serviced by Nationstar. We are currently asking for an exception. Illness and death are two hardships that enable the rules to be bent or broken when it comes to short sales. These two hardships normally take priority. So I'm optimistic that the 30 day late "r... 05/24/2011

Yes it's true. I didn't think it was when a potential Seller called me in December to see if I could place his Bellalago Short Sale on the market. He said that Chase contacted him and offered him $20,000 to short sale his Florida property. He had 3 days to get it listed and send them the listing agreement. They also told him he didn't have to provide them with any financial information. Just a listing agreement, contract, HUD 1 and a hardship letter. My first thought was "Yeah sure". My second thought was "What's your email address so I can send over the listing agreement!!" Once the property was listed I called Chase and they confirmed everything my seller had told me. I still had my doubts though. Anyway, we found a Buyer and the documents requested were sent to Chase in March. Earli... 05/21/2011

GETTING YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW-your offer has been accepted now what do you tell your landlord? For months the anticipation and excitement have been building...finally you have gotten the letter form the sellers lender you have been waiting for. Everything seems to be moving at warp speed and suddenly you feel there is so much to do and so little time to get it all done. PAY ATTENTION TO THE DATES SPECIFIED- Conditions of Short Sale approvals, typically come with specific dates forms must be received by, some may require notorization, and a closing date by the lender will be set.  If you are currently renting a place to live: CHECK YOUR LEASE.  Most standard leases have a 30 notice provision.  You will want to make sure your Landlord has sufficient notice. In most cases it is 30 days, but ... 05/19/2011

HOW MUCH IS YOUR CREDIT WORTH TO YOU?  Questions pondered by "Investors" who are facing a declining market, and considering a short sale.  Should consider the following: Short Sales which affect a primary residence may be eligible for loan fogiveness, reduced contributions at closing and in some cases a move out alloowance depending on the lender from $3000-$10,000). GETTING YOUR DUCKS IN  A ROW BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL   In cases where the Short Sale Property is NOT the primary residence, do not expect to walk away from the bad debt scott free.  Lenders investors may want Investment Property Owners to absorb some of the loss they are incurring as well.  We see this happen frequently on second homes, rental homes or other investment properties.  There is no get out of debt free card being ... 05/15/2011

LISTING YOUR OSCEOLA COUNTY KISSIMMEE ST CLOUD HOME- Listing your St.Cloud or Kissimmee Florida Home.  Does Your property have "POP"  The ultimate goal of a home seller is to get a viable contract.  In today's market that means your property has to have "POP" "POP"- Property Optimally Priced- Properties which sell the fastest have "POP" The pop on and off the market in the blink of an eye.  Don't Blow it.- Over pricing a home, will take a wind out of a Buyer's sale. Watch The Market.  Prices adjust constantly.  By Keeping an eye on the Market Trends and Conditions; you will increase the chances of having a "POP" when you home hits the market. Property Optimally Priced will attract multiple buyers.   And Increase the chances your home will close.  Pass appraisal and get you to the closin... 05/09/2011

KISSIMMEE ST CLOUD HOME INFO- THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS A BUYERS SHOULD KNOW. St.Cloud Kissimmee Realtor Allison Stewart,Broker, St Cloud Homes & Land,  reveals inside tips for successful Kissimmee St Cloud Home home searches- Buyers looking to capitalize on the best prices we have seen in over a decade in the Kissimmee-St Cloud home market are aware of the 3 most important things they need before ever opening the door to the first showing. 1) Know before you go what your number is:A pre-Approval Letter from their lender.  The first and most important step to the home buying process is to determine how much home you can actually afford. A foreclosed home purchase or short sale purchase will require a letter from your lender attached to the offer for consideration. Cash buyers will... 05/05/2011

John McCarthy has a featured post today..... Do You Remember Your First AR Blog...And Your First Commenter? So I went back to see what my first post on Active Rain was. It was written on July 8, 2006 and was about the hot topic at the time. The Real Estate Bubble!!! Check it out....... Has the bubble burst? Or is it just slowly deflating? My market area is Poinciana one of the fastest growing PUDs in the country located in  Kissimmee,Fl.  As of this morning there were 1434 homes on the market in our two zip codes ranging from $135,000 to $650,000. Twelve months ago there were approximately 250 homes on the market. Where have all the Buyers gone? Have they floated away? Or are they just letting out a deep breath after a hectic buying frenzy? Based on what I am seeing they are still here ... 05/03/2011

Wow!  This first month of Spring is really off with a bang.  Inventory continues to go down while sales seem to get hotter and hotter.  Our office closed some 46 properties during April 2011.  Just check out the sampling below of some of the great deals we sold last month in sunny Central Florida.                    Orange                                          Harrisson                                 Garnet  1. Orange Avenue, Eustis, FL 32726.  3 bed/1.5 bath historic home with office zoning.  Located on a 4-lane road on the same street as attorney and CPA offices just minutes from the downtown area.  This bank owned REO home sold for a mere $20,000.  What a steal.   2. Cinnamon Circle, Casselberry, FL 32707. 4 bed/2 bath pool home.  An investor fixed up this beauty making it look s... 05/02/2011

RELOCATING TO KISSIMMEE ST CLOUD FLORIDA HOMES-FINDING A ST CLOUD KISSIMMEE REALTOR: A Realtor®, Real Estate Agent, Real Estate Professional are all common terms and interchangeable. But regardless of the moniker: you need to find a professional who makes you feel at ease, comfortable, and one who is responsive to your calls and questions.  Whether it is your first home or your fiftieth; the fit between you are your Real Estate Professional needs to feel right. Did you know that you can fire a Real Estate Agent at any time?  You can.  Most will not tell you that. Agents work with multiple clients at any given time.  You want to find one who is attentive, flexible, and understands your wants and needs. Big Brokerage or Smaller Boutique Firms?      Truthfully, they all have access to the ... 04/28/2011

Hi Folks. I sent out a Poll yesterday trying to determine who Short Sale Agents from around the Country believe to be the worst Short Sale Lender. Bank of America won the title of Worst Short Sale Lender with 27% of the votes!! I guess this isn't much of a surprise. Bank of America has been trying hard to turn it around by offering training to agents and using systems like Equator to make things easier. BUT......I guess it just ain't working. Why is that? Is it because of all the old Country Wide loans they took over? Is it due to the sheer volume of bad loans they are servicing? My personal experience with Bank of America is that they are far easier to work with than they were a few years ago. At least they answer the phones!! They've also approved every short sale I've worked with the... 04/21/2011

Hi Florida Homeowners. Are you struggling to make your mortgage payments due to unemployment? If so there may be help available through the new Florida Hardest Hit Program. This program went into affect Monday 18 April and is offering help for Homeowners. There are 1 Billion dollars available and it is being dished out on a first come first serve basis. The following information is from the website: http://flhardesthithelp.org An eligible homeowner: Must be a Florida resident; Must occupy property as primary residence (the property cannot be vacant, abandoned or rented); Borrower/co-borrower must be unemployed or underemployed through no fault of his/her own, which makes the first mortgage unaffordable; Must have documented total household income at or below 140% of the area median inco... 04/19/2011

THINKING OF SELLING YOUR ST CLOUD KISSIMMEE FLORIDA HOME AND WONDERING WHEN WILL THE MARKET IMPROVE? When there is a an excessive amount of homes for sales (inventory) it is considered to be a buyers market.  Conversely, when there is a shortage of available homes for sale: it is a seller's market.   Back in 2005 there was a buying frenzy due to the lack of existing homes particularly here in Kissimmee St. Cloud Florida.   Buyers fueled by a media frenzy on hot housing markets flooded here to purchase property hoping to cash in and make a big profit on a quick resale. Prices doubled and tripled in some cases due to the limited availability of homes-it was a Seller's Market.  Lending practices were were lose and the invention of stated income loans, adjustable rates mortgages, and over v... 04/11/2011

Government Home Loans FHA/VA/USDA in Kissimmee Florida are still being used in most purchase transactions. I specialize in FHA, USDA, VA Loan products. When it comes to less out of pocket expense at a rate that is competitive with other lenders such as the conventional types more people are choosing to go with the Govies; which are aka FHA, VA and USDA Loans.  However lenders are not always willing to adopt into practice the new programs being passed down byHUD. Lets just say it would appear that this particular program isn't being accepted with open arm's on main street so far. HUD recently launched a program aimed at helping people who are current on their mortgage loans; refinance to the lower prevailing rates being offered through FHA and VA Approved Lenders even if they are under ... 04/11/2011

FIND HOMES IN ST.  ST.CLOUD FLORIDA THREE SIMPLE REAL ESTATE BASICS FOR BEGINNERS. Find Homes in St. Cloud Florida seems simple enough. Perhaps you are thinking now is the right time to buy or sell your St.Cloud or Kissimmee Florida home?  Driving around the area you see a plethora of signs and have made dozens of calls to various agents and keep hearing "it is under contract", "It is sold", it has" multiple offers".  There is a difference between browsing Real Estate in St. Cloud /Kissimmee Fl and actually being prepared to Buy Real Estate in St. Cloud Kissimmee Florida.  Three simple Real Estate Basics for Beginners in the Kissimmee/St. Cloud Real Estate Market: 1) Location, Location, Location.  2) Work with only ONE Realtor.   (Realtors® abide by a strict code of ethics) 3) Be Pre-Ap... 04/05/2011